General Motors Co. plans to increase its production of the fuel-efficient Volt and similar models by 20 percent. The automaker is planning to build 1,500 to 3,000 a month.

General Motors Co. is planning to build as many as 36,000 Chevrolet Volts and other plug-in hybrids for worldwide delivery this year, 20 percent more than in 2012, two people familiar with the effort said.

GM is planning to build 1,500 to 3,000 of the fuel-efficient vehicles a month, said the people, who didn't want to be identified because the target isn't public. GM sold about 30,000 Volt and similar Opel Ampera cars globally in 2012, said Jim Cain, a company spokesman, who declined to give a target for this year.

Chief Executive Officer Dan Akerson has struggled to compete against more successful alternative-power vehicles such as Toyota Motor Corp.'s Prius. The CEO originally touted the Volt's gasoline-and-electric system as the technology of the future and forecast global Volt sales of 60,000 in 2012, before settling for half that amount.

FedEx plans $25M distribution center in New Haven, Ind.

The News-Sentinel reports (http://bit.ly/Wsp6sS) that an application for tax "phase-ins" filed with Allen County officials says FedEx will invest $12.5 million in a new 178,000-square-foot distribution center on about 40 acres in New Haven.

The Memphis-based package delivery company will also spend a similar amount on equipment needed to handle, sort and distribute materials. The application says FedEx expects the project just east of Fort Wayne to create 87 part-time jobs.

Construction of the complex is expected to begin in May, with a completion date slated for September 2014.

Bourbon maker Beam creates its own white whiskey

The world's top bourbon producer is dipping into moonshining's colorful past to create its own white whiskey.

Beam's newest spirit is called Jacob's Ghost in honor of Jacob Beam, founding distiller of its flagship Jim Beam brand. Jacob's Ghost resembles the concoction that flowed from the pioneer's still in the 1790s or from a moonshiner's still today.

But this is no run-of-the-mill, backwoods hooch. Jacob's Ghost is an 80-proof whiskey aged at least one year in a charred, white oak barrel.

Insurers fearful of cuts in Medicare program in 2014

Health insurers have grown much more worried about possible cuts to the Medicare Advantage program in 2014 than investors in their stocks, according to an analyst for Citi, which recently hosted a health-care conference.

Managed-care stocks have slipped less than analyst Carl McDonald expected since the federal government released data earlier this month that points to possible steep Medicare Advantage payment cuts in 2014.

Louisville-based Humana is one of the top Medicare Advantage providers.

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services said Feb. 15 that it expects costs per person for Medicare Advantage plans to fall more than 2 percent in 2014, a bigger drop than many analysts who cover the industry anticipated. They worry that this could lead to big payment cuts, since the government uses the figure as a benchmark to determine payment.

CMS will announce final rates in April, and analysts have said they expect that the government will likely find ways to soften the blow.

Louisville, Kentucky • Southern Indiana

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Business Roundup | GM plans to boost Volt production

General Motors Co. is planning to build as many as 36,000 Chevrolet Volts and other plug-in hybrids for worldwide delivery this year, 20 percent more than in 2012, two people familiar with the effort